Abuse in the arts: the shocking truth

Scale of harassment revealed Colgan accusers reject Gate probe

Maeve Sheehan and Philip Ryan HARASSMENT and bullying is widespread in the arts community, according to a “startling” Behaviour & Attitudes survey released to the Sunday Independent.

The findings reveal that almost 60pc of those surveyed, mostly women who are employed in the arts, say they have been bullied but that almost three-quarters have not reported it because they fear it might jeopardise future work opportunities.

Those surveyed reported in large numbers being shouted at as well as being the target of aggressive or obscene language, intimidation, social exclusion or isolation, offensive jokes and intrusion by pestering, spying or stalking.

The survey, conducted for the actors’ union Irish Equity and the trade union Siptu, reveals huge numbers of respondents suffering from anxiety and depression, feelings of dread and not wanting to go to work, as well as sleep problems and increased alcohol use as a result of the harassment and bullying.

Last night, Arts Minister Heather Humphreys told the Sunday Independent she would be raising the results of the survey with the Arts Council, which her spokeswoman stressed was independent in its funding decisions.

This weekend there are growing demands that future arts funding be contingent on strict adherence to protocols designed to prevent such harassment and bullying.

The survey’s findings reflect growing concerns in the arts community here that harassment and bullying is rife in an industry that has come under intense scrutiny since a number of women made allegations of inappropriate conduct against Michael Colgan, the retired director of Dublin’s Gate Theatre.

The allegations in relation to the Gate Theatre include accounts of inappropriate remarks, touching and harassment, which were posted online by several women. Mr Colgan has not responded to text messages or calls from the Sunday Independent.

Last night seven women who went public with allegations of abuse of power or inappropriate behaviour against Michael Colgan, said they “question the independence” of the process put in place by the Gate Theatre to examine concerns. “Michael Colgan sat on the board of the Gate for many years. This undermines our confidence in the impartiality of the current Board,” they said in a statement.

It is now evident that such allegations may be far more wide reaching within the arts community here.

A copy of the survey was provided to the Arts Council last year, but action on foot of the findings has yet to be taken.

The Arts Council, the government agency responsible

for developing arts, had no comment to make on the findings this weekend, although it is known that it has received a copy of the survey earlier this year.

The Sunday Independent submitted questions to the Arts Council at 4.15pm on Friday — but was told that as relevant people were unavailable, it would not be possible to provide a response until after the weekend.

A statement said: “The Arts Council notes the announcement by the Gate Theatre in relation to allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour, and we welcome the fact that the issue is now being discussed openly across the wider arts sector.

“The Arts Council is committed to a culture of respect, dignity, fairness and equality in the workplace and recognises employment legislation in this regard. We also expect all organisations funded by the Arts Council to respect and uphold the law in this regard.”

Yesterday Mannix Flynn, a city councillor and former actor, said the State — and in particular the Arts Council — should “step in” to examine the claims. “Somebody has to take ownership of this,” he told the Sunday Independent.

Arts Minister Heather Humphreys this weekend also refused to be drawn on whether future funding for the arts should be attached to the implementation and strict adherence to protocols in relation to workplace harassment and bullying.

In relation to the allegations at the Gate, she repeated: “HR issues at the Gate are a matter for the management and board. It is up to each workplace to operate best practice on sexual harassment as outlined by law, and I welcome the decision of the management and board of the Gate to appoint an independent HR adviser to deal with any issues raised through a confidential email address.”

The Minister said she strongly encouraged all victims of alleged sexual harassment to come forward.

“They must feel empowered to tell their stories without fear of personal or professional recrimination,” she said. “At the same time, this should be balanced with the right to due process of any alleged perpetrator.”

Padraig Murray, president of Irish Equity, and Karan O’Loughlin, Siptu’s arts organiser, confirmed that they approached leading arts funding organisations to discuss what they said were the “startling” findings of the survey.

“We were talking about this issue, and saying they needed to take it more seriously, saying that we believe that funding should be linked to policy and procedures around best practice,” said Ms O’Loughlin.

She said one of the rules of funding should be “a robust harassment and sexual harassment policy to show that you not only actively support people in making complaints, but that you are actively trying to stamp out this behaviour”.

The policies requested by Irish Equity and Siptu are in addition to the existing terms and conditions of Arts Council funding, which include a requirement to comply with equality legislation that protects against discrimination in the workplace.

Ms O’Loughlin and Mr Murray claimed the Arts Council’s response was that “it wasn’t their business” — while in contrast the Dublin City Arts Office was “very receptive”.

The Dublin City Arts Office is engaging with the unions on the issue of bullying and harassment in the sector. A seminar will take place in Dublin on Friday with the theme of helping organisations working in the arts to formulate robust anti-harassment and bullying policies.

Last night Fianna Fail Arts spokeswoman Niamh Smyth said it was a “no brainer” to insist that cultural institutions receiving State funding from the Arts Council should be required to have sexual harassment and bullying protocols in place.